FARGO, N.D. — Ten-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz always enjoys returning home to North Dakota, but this weekend’s have an added significance.
In a pandemic-affected season that is down to its final third, Schatz is hoping a strong North Dakota swing will help propel him toward an 11th series title. He is third in points, 62 behind leader Logan Schuchart.
Schatz was in the thick of the championship hunt before a rough weekend at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway’s The One and Only dropped him back in the standings.
Home cooking may be just what the doctor ordered for the Fargo, N.D., native, however. Schatz is a 12-time winner at Friday night’s venue, River Cities Speedway, and has three World of Outlaws victories at Red River Valley Speedway, where the tour visits on Saturday night.
That prior success has Schatz eager to begin reapplying pressure toward those ahead of him in points.
“North Dakota has been very good to me in general. It’s where I still reside and it’s where I love to be,” Schatz told SPEED SPORT during a Thursday video interview. “I spend a lot of time here, but I think any of the teams will tell you that they have a lot of fun when they come here. The fans are great and it’s just a good time. It feels like a destination event for everybody except for me, you know? I sleep in my own bed. The rest of them … nobody’s even close. So it’s really like a destination event.
“We’ve had good results at River Cities. We’ve had good results at Red River Valley Speedway. So hopefully we can add to that here this weekend,” Schatz added. “Hopefully, we can try to dig ourselves into a little better championship position by the end of the weekend and go from there.”
The top five in points — Schuchart, Brad Sweet, Schatz, Carson Macedo and Sheldon Haudenschild — are separated by only 96 markers entering Friday night’s event at Red River Valley Speedway.
With 32 features completed through Aug. 20 and a three-month break from February to May due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been a highly-unusual season for The Greatest Show on Dirt.
However, Schatz scoffed at any notion that this year’s World of Outlaws champion should be considered any differently because of the unique circumstances.
“I don’t think it necessarily means more or less,” Schatz said. “I think you take it day to day. We’re far from this season being over, and anything could happen. I think if you talk to anybody, they said early on that they weren’t sure how the World of Outlaws would be able to be able to pay a champion at the end of the year … with not having the number of races (they normally have) and missing out on both West Coast swings and having a reduced season. I don’t know that that’s the case. I know that the All Stars have said, ‘Hey guys, we get ‘X’ amount of races in and we get paid.’ And I think we’ve got some sort of verbal confirmation from the Outlaws on that.
“But if you have to ask yourself whether a championship means more or less … listen, there’s always going to be questions in the back of your mind as to whether this is or isn’t just as important, but a reduced number of races is just what it boils down to in this case,” he added. “At the end of the day, whoever is on top at the end of the season is going to be a World of Outlaws champion and that still carries weight.
“It’s still going to mean a lot to someone and, hopefully, that’s our No. 15 team at the end of the day.”